IT Strategic Plan

Owned by Alex Markessinis
Jul 20, 2018
4 min read

Information Technology

Mission

The mission of the Information Technology (IT) department is to provide information technology solutions and services that support the vision and goals of The Sage Colleges. The IT department is committed to creating and maintaining IT services that support and enhance academic and administrative operations.

The IT department achieves its mission by:

  • providing a robust, reliable and secure computing environment that supports excellence in teaching, learning and administrative services,
  • providing friendly, professional and timely customer service to all members of the Sage community,
  • providing collaborative, creative and resourceful solutions that make the best use of institutional resources,
  • providing ongoing training to the Sage community in new and emerging technologies,
  • working effectively and efficiently as a team to solve problems,
  • keeping users informed of progress on projects, enhancements to services, and problems that are encountered, and
  • pursuing continuous improvement. IT staff are committed to ongoing assessment of IT services and continuous improvement of services based on feedback that is received.

Vision

The IT department provides robust, reliable, leading edge services to all members of the Sage community and empowers members of the campus community to effectively use information technology in the pursuit of excellence in teaching, learning, research, and administration.

Core Values

IT provides services that:

  • support and enhance the learning environment
  • result in a positive user experience
  • make people more productive and efficient
  • maintain a balance between user-friendliness and security

 Ties to the institutional strategic plan are indicated in parentheses at the end of each goal.

Goals

Goal I:

Sage IT provides seamless, contemporary, reliable access to information and services in a secure IT environment (VI)

  • Strategy A: Enhance access to the tools needed for teaching, learning research and administration in the 21st century
    • Tactic 1: Replace CampusCruiser as the College’s email and portal provider with a cloud-based, user-friendly, scalable and reliable alternative
    • Tactic 2: Provide single sign-on to all critical Sage services to streamline access and improve customer satisfaction. 
    • Tactic 3: Strive to keep computers and software current (on stable, reliable versions) so that graduates are competitive in a challenging job market.  
  • Strategy B: Provide a robust, reliable campus network that supports the needs of the Sage Community.
    • Tactic 1: Increase bandwidth as needed to support increased enrollment and the evolving nature of Internet use. 
  • Strategy C: Ensure that all services are provided in a secure network environment
    • Tactic 1:   Review and revise security policies and practices on an ongoing basis to ensure a safe and secure technology environment.
    • Tactic 2:   Strengthen intrusion detection, auditing, reporting, and password management to support a more secure network environment.
    • Tactic 3:   Regularly review patching, backup, and redundancy of network systems and revise practices as necessary to bolster system performance and security Strategy D: Deliver key services (e-mail, calendaring, etc.) and educational content to mobile devices, particularly smartphones and tablets.
  • Strategy E: Continually strengthen and extend administrative information services to support the needs of the Sage community
    • Tactic 1: Provide additional functionality via SageAdvisor (HR, room assignments, etc.) so that employees and students have seamless, 24/7 access to information and services.

Goal II:

Sage is seen as an environment where technology supports teaching and learning in the 21st century (VI)

  • Strategy A:  Identify and implement a solution that provides streamlined, user-friendly technology in the classrooms.
    • Tactic 1: Identify locations for smart rooms on both campuses and in other locations, replace current smart carts with a professional, user-friendly alternative and develop a plan for implementation over the next five years.
  • Strategy B: Provide increased support for videoconferencing.
    • Tactic 1: Identify and implement videoconferencing locations on both campuses. Increase number of spaces.
  • Strategy C: Create spaces where students can work collaboratively, outside of class, utilizing technology.
  • Strategy D: When replacing existing equipment, seek sustainable alternatives that reduce energy consumption.
    • Tactic 1: Continue efforts to consolidate servers via virtualization to enhance manageability and reduce energy consumption.
    • Tactic 2: Seek “green” alternatives whenever possible in the purchase of computer and peripheral equipment.
    • Tactic 3: Support “paperless” initiatives in major administrative areas.
  • Strategy E: Provide students with the tools that are essential for the learning experience, but beyond their reach.
    • Tactic 1:  Explore investment in high end tools that students may encounter in the workplace (i.e. 3D printing).

Goal III:

The Sage community has access to the tools and information necessary for timely decision-making and strategic planning (II, VI)

  • Strategy A:  Provide enhanced business intelligence reporting to senior management.
    • Tactic 1: Implement enhanced business reporting including trend analysis and dashboards 

Goal IV:

Sage supports a highly technical faculty, staff and student community that utilizes cutting edge technology to teach, learn, conduct research and provide administrative services (II, IV, VI)

  • Strategy A: Identify and implement solutions that will improve services and increase efficiency.
    • Tactic 1: Explore software options that will streamline processes and improve services to all members of the Sage community
  • Strategy B: Work with deans, department chairs, and office managers to raise the bar on general technology literacy among all constituent groups.
    • Tactic 1: Provide additional Ellucian training to Colleague users to enhance their effective use of the systems.
    • Tactic 2: Create and implement a new employee and student technology orientation that includes information about network and information security and all major technology services.
    • Tactic 3: Build the breadth and depth of information in the Knowledge Base and promote it as a 24/7 source of information, how-to’s, and FAQs on all college technology systems.
    • Tactic 4: Strive to have a technical “expert” in all administrative areas (Institutional Advancement, Finance, Academic Affairs)

Goal V:

Sage continually assesses and improves technology services to meet the evolving needs of the Sage community (II, VI)

  • Strategy A:  Assess the effectiveness of IT systems and services on an ongoing basis and utilize results to improve services and user satisfaction.
    • Tactic 1: Conduct a biennial assessment of the user experience, seek ongoing feedback from Service Center users, and utilize results to improve services.
    • Tactic 2: Conduct periodic external reviews of the IT department
    • Tactic 3: Develop a mechanism to provide periodic awards to IT staff for providing exceptional customer service.
  • Strategy B: Ensure that technology staff are knowledgeable of emerging technologies that support excellence in teaching, research and administrative services.
    • Tactic 1: Invest in the training of IT staff so that they are well-informed and adept with new tools and services that might benefit the Sage community.     
    • Tactic 2: In each IT department, continually scan the technology landscape for new tools that will enhance learning or improve administrative services.
    • Tactic 3: Provide opportunities for IT staff to present at local, regional and national conferences.
  • Strategy C: As technologies evolve and user demand increases, ensure that there are sufficient IT staff to support the delivery of technology services to the Sage community.

Related articles

This is mirrored here.